Different day

Carpet cleaning
Mopping
Playing cribbage
Laughing with Penny
Out for supper
No loads of dishes
Three loads of laundry
A full night of sleep

These are things that happen when Grammy and Gramps take the three older ducks overnight. One child at home for the night.

They are coming home at 1:00 so I'd better get off the computer and back to work. We are getting tons done and looking forward to company for the week-end. Hmmm. It has been great.

Bound to happen

Gary is home this week. It has been wonderful to be together, just hanging out and doing special things together. We joined the Holland Aquatic Center and have been swimming twice already. Thanks Mom and Dad Petty (Gary's folks) for the funds to do this. We are looking forward to many more family pool sessions this winter.
One of the benefits of Gary being home is that I get to be on vacation a little bit too. I don't make all the daily decisions, make all the meals, or do all the discipline. Gary might be ready to go back to work soon though. :)

So today, we finally had happen something that I've been anticipating for a long time. My boys. My fabulous boys. My "pee standing up" boys. Over the past year, they have been getting a little bit. . . lazier about their aim in the bathroom. I'm noticing more "issues" in the bathroom and am fairly confident that Noel isn't making the mess. So today, we hear Garrison talking with Simon about how he shouldn't be doing that on the stool. Gary goes to the bathroom and finds Simon standing on the stool and lettin' er rip! Yes, my boys are finally seeing how far, how high, how fast they can go. I knew it would happen. Today was the day. Gary was firm about how gross it was, how they needed to clean it up. I'm thankful it wasn't me. Not because it was a little gross. Not because I would have had to supervise clean-up. Not because I would have had to give a talk. I'm glad I didn't handle it because I was laughing. I even had to stay away from the bathroom because I didn't want the boys to see me laughing! Gary gave me quite the perplexed look before he began to smirk as well.
My guess is this is not the first time, nor will it be the last time my boys take aim and fire. For the sake of their future wives however, I need to make sure not to smile about it.

Christmas

Happy Birthday Jesus!
We greeted Sunday morning with cupcakes and song. We do after all need to celebrate members of our family who have birthdays. Lovely.
Christmas Eve was our family time to enjoy each other, open gifts, have a nice dinner together and read the Christmas story. When I sit back and look at it, the day was great. I loved seeing my kids have such excitement. I loved giving gifts to them. I loved spending the day together and just being: no big agenda. I loved sitting with Gary after the kids had gone to bed and talking, laughing, and exchanging stockings with each other. Loved it. I love Christmas.
During the day, I had to catch myself at times from being disappointed--having too many expectations for the day. I wanted to pack as many traditions in--yet we don't need so many traditions. I wanted my kids to ooh and aah at every gift--um, my kids are 6, 5, 4 and 1. Ain't going to happen. I wanted my kitchen to stay clean--we ate three meals at home and even had chocolate fondue. Kitchen isn't going to stay clean. Kids aren't going to stay clean. :) Christmas morning was fun with socks (stockings) and the comment "is this all?". (Clenched teeth) Yes. . . and Jesus is here.
Jesus is indeed here and Yes, that is all. All of him. All human. All divine. All baby. A baby?!? Didn't expect that one.

Eyebrows

Merry Christmas to my eyebrows! I waxed them this morning and. . . ahem. . . didn't quite get things even. Oops. Generally, I come close. Most folks wouldn't notice, but this time--well--things are a bit uneven. I've been a-pluckin' away, yet this may only be making things worse. We've been talking to our kids about gifts and how they may not get everything they want or get what others got or blah blah blah. My eyebrows did not get treated fairly--one certainly got more than the other. I do think it's kinda funny for little ole cheapskate me.
Thankfully, I don't have to look at them much. Poor Gary. :)

Joseph

I was asked to give a little talk to our Bible Study about Christmas. Here are the thoughts that I shared that day.

Besides Christ, one of my favorite characters in the Christmas narrative is Joseph. He often gets overlooked as there as very little mentioned about him in the story. Yes, scripture does offer us a few descriptions.
1. He was a righteous man. Of course he was. He was betrothed to Mary and she was most certainly a righteous woman--the mother of Christ had to be. If Mary's folks thought that Joseph was a worthy husband--he must have been pretty special.
2. He was going to divorce her quietly. He could have stoned her if he wanted. He could have stood in the city gates and maligned her. She obviously cheated on him and got pregnant. His named was dragged through the mud. In a day and age where the news is filled with folks divorcing each other, putting out tweets and giving interviews, Joseph takes the high road. Mary is pregnant. He'll take care of things quietly. He must have really liked her to want to protect her as well as to not take any kind of revenge on her.
3. He had a dream where an angel talked with him and he went to Mary "when he woke up". Right away! He took on these issues. He took on all the judgement and comments of the folks in Nazareth. He didn't ask God to talk to him again. He didn't say "this was just a dream so I don't have to do anything.". Boy do I like this guy. I can't say that I would have reacting like that.
4. He was willing to be an adoptive parent to the Son of God! Think about that. He was going to parent the SON OF GOD. Someone who was perfect. An imperfect parent parenting a perfect child. Yet, Joseph did it. He taught him how to do carpentry, how to behave in synagogue, how to tie his robe the right way, how to wash his feet and behind his ears, how to eat a variety of foods. . . he did it.
5. He didn't have sex with Mary until after Jesus was born. I'm amazed at Joseph's self-control. Though they were married, he wanted to make sure that Jesus was born of the virgin Mary. To get married and then wait. . . what a guy!

We don't hear much more about him--they go to Egypt and return. What we do hear is amazing though. Way to go Joseph!

A quick insert

Yes. . . Christmas character. . . coming. . . need more time.

Instead

Had a wonderful afternoon with Noel. We dressed up and went to see a local dance company put on a Christmas show. Great music: all Christian, all lifted high to the Lord--very cool.
Noel liked most of it, really liked the suckers I threw in my purse (so glad I did that!), sat on my lap the whole time so that she could see. I liked her there. I could whisper to her. I could hug her. I don't get a lot of time one-on-one with my girl.
Then. . . after one of the dances. . .while the lights were out. . . while they were changing dancers and music. . . while it was completely quiet in the theater. . . Noel sat up and burped. Loudly.

Lots of chuckling from the folks sitting around us. I shook my head, smiled a bit, pulled her close, and explained that burping in public isn't really acceptable. Let's try to not do that again.

Gary's response when I told him about it over dinner?

"That's my daughter."

I adore him

I know I said in my last post that I would talk about my favorite Christmas character. Tomorrow. . . or whenever I get around to it. Just look forward to it o.k.? :)

Instead, I have a little story to share, one that gave me immense amusement!

Garrison has been into money lately. He traded his tooth fairy money for some basketball cards on the bus. He worked hard to get a dollar and went to the dollar store to chose something of his very own. Though he is only six, we are hoping that he'll begin to see the value of money, how saving works, how spending works etc.

So, one morning he set up a garage sale in our living room. I laughed and just enjoyed the show. I also announced that I would not be buying anything at the garage sale. 1. I didn't need anything that was available. 2. I purchased most of what he was selling anyway. 3. I thought the prices were a little high.

Garrison sells for awhile in the living room and sadly doesn't have any customers. Simon and Noel are both glad to purchase the stuff: they just don't have any cash. Ah, a problem.

I'm working in the kitchen, playing with Penny, putting her in bed, taking a shower etc. I discover later that Garrison is no longer selling in the living room, but has moved out to the road. He is going to have a garage sale: a real one. It is the middle of November and he is ready to go!

HILARIOUS!

Garrison patiently waiting for some business.

He has his stand all set up.

$2.00 for a mini-skateboard! Outrageous!

Simon joined him shortly afterwards to assist. After about 20 minutes, Garrison convinced Simon that if he stayed outside, then Simon could have all the profits. They did ask if they could go around and knock on doors to drum up some business. I said "no". Mean mom.

Sadly, no one stopped and they didn't make any money. I'm o.k. with it.

Update on Gary

Thanks for your care and concern. Gary is feeling better. Bless God! Woo-Hoo! Yipee! Yee-Haw! Yes Yes Yes! He is on his third course of antibiotics. Whew.

He had a hearing test and he hasn't lost it (his hearing that is)-he was beginning to think he'd never hear again. I'm excited to be able to whisper sweet nothings to him again again soon. Shouting "You look sexy!" doesn't have the same meaning to it--especially when the kids hear and ask what "sexy" means. O.K., this didn't actually happen. I'll wait to tell him how sexy I find him when I can actually whisper and have him hear me. Instead for now, we find ourselves not talking after the kids go to bed because we'd wake them up. Soon and very soon--many whispers-and conversations that have been on hold for the past few weeks. i.e. Christmas presents, conversations with friends, observations at school, job situations. . . Gary and I need to get caught up.

On a different page, thought we had turned a corner with my crazy into everything girl, but no. Eating more dog food than ever. Shaking out all the creole seasoning. Tape! Wandering. . . no running. . . into other classrooms as soon as my eyes are off of her. Spent more than a few minutes looking for my lost girl at school on Monday. She had made friends with a reading specialist. Not a bad choice. She is so engaging though. Funny. Excited. Learning new words every day. Makes me laugh every day. Oh, how I just adore--until she gets into the garbage. Really?!?

Next post: my favorite Christmas character. I know, you are excited. :) Hope your week is going great. Ours is looking better all the time.

Rough go

Folks

My praying family and friends. . .

Gary is sick. Not sick like "I have a cold" sick. Not sick like "you are a pervert" sick. Not sick like "let's do surgery" sick.

His body is fighting something. After working over 100 hours during his on-call week, his body was just. . . weak. Cold led to ear infection and lots and lots of pain and pressure. He got on antibiotics and nothing changed. He got on new antibiotics and nothing has changed. They thing one of his ears ruptured. He can't hear and I'm married to and 85 year old man who refused to ear his hearing aid.

He has another doctor's appointment tomorrow. Would you pray for him? For the doctor? For healing? For relief from the pain, pressure and dizziness that has been with him for a week and a half now? I'll keep you posted.

You know when. . .

You know when you love to spend a night out with your husband?

You know when you find a Groupon deal for a crazy silly night watching Roller Derby?

You know when you buy it in September and keep the e-mail unread and are reminded every day that soon and very soon, you'll be on a date with your guy?

You know when you found friends to go with you?

You know when your friends can't go because they suddenly have a family Christmas party?

You know when you can't find other friends to go?

You know when you realize the night before the you neglected to find a babysitter?

That's me.

My kids

I don't want to be one of "those moms".

I don't want to be one of "those moms" who talks about how great their kid is, how smart their kid it, how amazing their kid is. . . blah blah blah. Plus, if someone is struggling with their child, I want to empathize rather than announce that my child isn't struggling with a particular issue. SO, I find myself talking poorly about my kids. I would walk away from a conversation with another mom thinking--"that really isn't who Simon is" or "I can't believe I just said that about Noel" or some such thing. I'm afraid I'll be seen as the "mom with her head in the clouds" or "mom out of touch with reality" or "mom who doesn't see when her kids are just ding dongs". I'm afraid of being judged. (a whole nother blog).
So--I'm going to try and speak the truth in love about my kids. Sure, they make mistakes. Sure they drive me crazy at times. Sure, I mess up as a mom every day. Yes, they can be ding dongs. But--let me tell you a few things about my ducks.


Garrison has a smile that will melt your heart. He is so very caring in regards to his faith and pays such close attention to Bible Stories. He is strong and sensitive. He gravitates to adults rather than kids and will talk with anyone. They boy is reading--READING! I really enjoy spending time with him.
Simon has been showing many artistic talents lately. I'm thrilled with this as I myself am very challenged with doing art. He gets along with every kid he meets and has tons of friends. He is super silly. He can go on a cleaning frenzy and suddenly, rooms are picked up in my house! Love him!
Noel fascinates me. Her personality is so big and when we laugh I couldn't be happier. She is in gymnastics and is the strongest one in her class. I'm amazed when I see what this girl can do in the gym. She gets so excited to help me in the kitchen and is the best egg-cracker of all the kids. She also MUST wave good-bye to anyone who leaves our house. She stands on the sidewalk, often without shoes or socks, and makes sure that every visitor gets a proper send-off.
Penny my baby is amazing. Her favorite word is "yes" and I can't get enough of it. I love to ask her questions when I know she'll get excited and shout out "YES!". She kicks her feet when she sees her daddy. I love that she is an explorer. I love it when she gives me a hug and kiss. I love when I hug her and she'll pat my arm over and over again. She cackles just like me and I couldn't be happier.


I like my kids. I like being with them. I tell them almost every day that I'm so glad that God chose to put us together. He could have put my kids with any other family and God picked them out for me. I love love love them and am so thankful that I get to spend every day with them.

Friendship

Friendship has been the theme of the past month of my life. It seems wherever I turn I am learning from my friends, learning through my friends, making new friends, celebrating my friends, weeping with my friends, encouraging my friends, confronting my friends, and generally thinking about my friends.

It is hard to make friends as an adult. I used to have school, then I had college. I worked at two different schools and made friends there. Now, my regular friends are ages 6, 5, 4 and 1.

In the past month though, there seems to be a focus. Let me share a couple of the discoveries that God has taught me through them. (If you are my friend and you can't seem to find yourself on this list: fear not! I love you dearly and I am just choosing to share these and keep you close to my heart.)

1. You will never "get over" the death of a parent. I will ALWAYS listen to you when you need to talk, remember, or cry. Always.

2. You have taught me that my assessment of the situation is not the best way. I never thought that if a child is treating my kid poorly in school, perhaps I should invite said child and their mama over to my house. Rather than chastise this child of God, talk poorly about them behind their back, tell my child to just "stay away" or think bad thoughts of poor parenting (rarely the case!)--I might instead offer to play with them and my child and teach them how to be a good friend. Really!?! What a brilliant and difficult thing to do. Thanks for teaching me this.

3. You have taught me that I need to be more honest about where I am in regards to my values and opinions. I shouldn't be afraid to say what I think because I disagree with you. We can disagree about stuff. It isn't a big deal.

4. You have taught me that I need to carve out more time. Your friendship is so important to me and I often let it slide because it is so very good--yet then I miss out on you and I love you so very much!

5. You have taught me once again that everything is not perfect in perfectville. Thanks for being vulnerable with me and letting me pray for you.

6. You have taught me that I need to be more in step with the Holy Spirit. You are Spirit-filled and your e-mail has caused me food for thought. What do I need to do so hear and then obey the Spirit?

7. You have taught me that I don't have to be friends with everyone. I am not your friend. It is o.k. for us to not be friends.

8. You came to earth for me and left heaven for the comforts of a stable. Really? I would not want to do that at all. Thanks friend for being willing to do that for me.

Thanks my friends for helping me to grow as a person, as a child of God, and as a friend.

Thanksgiving

We celebrated Thanksgiving. Shocker. :)

I didn't participate in an alphabet thanksgiving countdown or a daily Facebook Thanksgiving post. I didn't blog every day. Nevertheless, I'm thankful. I could list everything I'm thankful for, but I'd never be finished and you'd get bored. My gratitude is never ending thanks to my God. He gives, I rejoice and hopefully give it back to Him every day.

We did go around our Thanksgiving table and share what we are thankful for with my side of the family. I love listening to them give thanks. We are in fact worshiping together and that is great. Gary was gone working: yet I was thankful. He has a job. He likes his job. Penny didn't want to nap and woke up her cousins, yet I was thankful. I have her and she had a sleepy-do day the next day when there were fewer people to entertain her. Several of my siblings couldn't be at Thanksgiving, yet I was thankful. I love my sisters-in-law tons and I missed them. Not everyone can say that. I brought a meal to my brother who was home with a sick Tessa and we had a nice conversation, one which we probably wouldn't have had if we had been at my folks together.

So we sat at the table Thursday afternoon and something happened that hasn't happened for three years. My parents sat together. Yup, there is tons to be thankful for.

Christmas Lights

Wow-it's been a week and I haven't blogged. Sorry. I have a few knocking around in my head. . .we'll see which ones make it out. :)

We put up our tree this afternoon. We made sure Penny was sleeping and then we went to work. I kept smiling and reminded myself and Gary that the process is more important than the product. 75% of the ornaments were on the bottom half of the tree and there were many branches that held more than one, and in one particular case--four ornaments. Love them. Simon even insisted that he put up at 5x7 picture of himself on the tree. He poked holes in the picture and shoved branches through them. Process Shanda. It is about the process and not about a huge picture of Simon hanging on the tree. I patiently (mostly) moved some of the ornaments to higher ground and to their own branches. It does make me happy that they remember the stories of the ornaments--"This one is from Grandma Karen" "I made this in pre-school" and the like. Isn't that one of the purposes of Christmas? To share our stories? To re-tell the story of God keeping His promise and sending His son?

We also made cookies and each kid promptly lost one of the cookies for bad behavior. Yeah-we are awesome. We have a ceramic tree up that Grandma Arlene made. She died this fall, so it is especially awesome to have it. The nativity is up and my favorite angel--the one that makes me cry every time I take it out of the box--has a new spot. She is standing on top of the stable rock! We'll do our kid hand prints another night. The Christmas Pickle wouldn't sing because the batteries were dead. Gary was all over it and some on on their way from our friends at Amazon. As I write this I'm realizing that I'll need to take a few pics. Ya'll need to see it.

There is one problem, besides Penny shouting at all the balls on the tree and taking down the stockings. The lights. We put new lights on the tree and I don't like them. They are crazy bright! I feel like I'm sitting by a neon sign. I don't feel like taking it all down tonight, but tomorrow night I'm going to take everything off and then put it all back on again. I don't think I'll ask for help from the kids.

The Koemans

Saturday morning was fabulous, well mostly fabulous. My evil mom made delicious food and I stayed strong until the end. Then I fell down and ate said delicious food. Boo. For the record: my mom isn't evil: just an amazing cook and wonderful hostess.

My mom hosted a get together for the Koeman aunts and cousins. I'm proud to be a member of the Koeman clan. I love these people and don't see them very much. Growing up we got together often, especially during this time of year. We did Thanksgiving, got our Christmas trees followed by hot chocolate and cookies in someone's garage, Christmas parties, and sleigh rides on the farm. We camped in the summer. I learned to ride a bike on a Koeman camping trip.

I loved sitting and laughing with my cousins on Saturday and I'm thankful for the heritage given to my by my family. Not every family is perfect--the Koeman's certainly aren't. Don and Julia must have done a few things right. (That's my grandma and grandpa.) Cool to see God taking care of the generations and continuing to bless my family.

Reaction

I got on Facebook yesterday and vented. This is a-typical for me and I should probably remove it. I don't like to use Facebook in this regard.

I had just had it. I was frustrated and there was nothing I could do about it. See. . . rather than get my kids pictures taken at school: one shot, say cheese, no choice, quite pricey. . . . Boo, I tried local photography studio which offers to match, so we went with it. Choices, poses, laughter. . . it was a good time.

Anyway, the pictures were taken on September 23. I ordered them the day after they were posted on-line--Sept. 29 or 30. THEY didn't order them until October 12. Hence, my boys have no pictures to trade on picture trading day--which was today. That's o.k. says the teacher, they can trade an eraser. Seriously? An eraser? How about they trade chicken pox germs or blades of grass?!?

"Never Fear!" Between super dad and creative mom, we solved this problem. Since I was up four times with Penny in the middle of the night and enjoyed her company beginning at 5:45 this morning, I had plenty of time to think. Meijer might make little pictures. Indeed they do. Gary found a silly picture of Simon and I took a cock-eyed picture of Garrison. Gary uploaded and at 10:00 this morning, 44 wallet photos were ready to be written on by said children. I loved watching my boys write their names so proudly on those pictures. Lovely.

So--I won't use this studio again. I won't react on facebook again (well, I'll try)--although I told them I would tell others not to use them, so I fulfilled my promise. DeVries Studios. There, I told more people. I will remember that even in the middle of the night when my daughter is not sleeping but rather wailing, I might think of a good idea. I will remember that my boys won't ever remember trading these pictures, but they would have remembered giving their friends an eraser.

Trading cards

It has hit the Sprick house. Trading cards.

Garrison took his fifty cent piece with glitter glue on it to school one day. I didn't have a clue. He came home with four trading cards: three baseball and one football. These were HUGE treasures to him and he carried them around, lost them, mourned for them, and joyfully discovered them again. He was the envy of Simon. I was a bit miffed that he spent his tooth fairy money and got conned by some kid of the bus. . . but it was his money and totally worth fifty cents to him. I'm over it.

Then, a few days later I waited in our driveway and watched as my boys got off the bus. I love to see them get off and eagerly await for them to run through the Good Judge's (our neighbor) yard to me. We greet each other with hugs and kisses (I'm still allowed--Yeah!). This particular day, something was different. While Simon ran to me I watched as Garrison seemed to be trying to get the attention of a bigger kid. The kid obviously didn't want anything to do with Garrison, and though I couldn't hear what was happening, Garrison's body language was very clear. The older kid walked the other way and with a hanging head, Garrison began to walk my way. He turned around a couple of times, but finally made his way to me. Oh, this mama's heart was ready to break. I think I may have had tears in my eyes. I knew something was wrong in my boy's heart.

He looked at me and then tried to wipe away his tears. I tried to hug him, but he broke away a bit. . . and then returned to me and buried his head in my stomach. Have I mentioned how much I love him? Hmmm. I do. Tons. And tons.

We chatted a bit in the garage and I determined that we needed a serious conversation in the house, in the bedroom, by ourselves. We went inside, headed to the bedroom, and I prayed that Penny wouldn't get into too much trouble and that I would have the right words for me son.

See, this older boy had baseball cards and he wouldn't give any to Garrison even though Garrison had asked nicely. We talked about how this boy didn't have to give him cards. We talked about how Christmas was coming up. We talked about how Garrison could earn his own money. I held him and he cried. I was thankful that we could learn lessons together. I wondered what other things he'd learn on the bus. It was a good time. I'm thankful that God gave it to us. I also made Garrison promise that he wouldn't ask this boy for any more of his cards. (Lots of lessons which I'm sure we'll revisit.)

So Garrison's love for trading cards (the boys call them day/gay cards--we are working on this issue!) hasn't waned, so Gary and I have been looking for ways the kids can earn some money to visit the dollar store. They can pick our their own cards with their own money. I won't even go into Simon's feelings about Garrison's cards "which he won't share when I ask him nicely". There has been some envy here. Ah....

Are you confused yet? Following? Good.

The kids earned a dollar each. They were so excited. I warned them that they needed to put their dollar in a safe place. SAFE! PLACE! Garrison carried his dollar around, showed it off to our dinner guests, had it by his plate, and promptly lost it. Pure grief. Seriously, this boy was grieving. I wouldn't give him another dollar. He would have an opportunity to earn another dollar. He earned it yesterday by shoveling rocks and today was the day. [On a side note, both Simon and Noel both lost their dollars as well. They did find them though. They both thought that their bed would be a safe place. Um, no.]

Today I took everyone to the dollar store. Simon found his trading cards and carried them around the store. Noel found a gummy sucker (sarcastic Yeah!). Garrison. . . after two weeks of talking about these cards, of working extra hard to earn a dollar, after telling so many folks about it. . . chose a Christmas stocking.

I'm puzzled. Although, some light may be shed on the situation from this comment in the car. "Mom, we can hang up this stocking next to my other stocking and you could put stuff into both of them." This child might just be brilliant.

Yeah! and Boo!

Yup, we aren't changing the world here. . . unless you count raising kids the best that we can so that they be kingdom changers wherever God takes them. Hey---I guess I am changing the world. Here are my recent Yeahs and Boos.

*I did lose 3.5 pounds last week. Yeah! I celebrated by doing an extra bit of work-out. Yeah! And eating some M&M's. Boo!

*I did apologize to my kids for yelling at them too loudly. I recognized that they did do things wrong and I was angry. That is fine. I didn't have to yell so much though. Boo. It is something that is getting better because I'm praying about it and being very aware. God is a patient with me. Yeah!

*We dog sat for my brother this week-end. The kids LOVED Maggie and played a ton with her. Yeah! I vacuumed three times and filled it all the way to the "Max" line each time with dog hair. Boo!

*I have finally and successfully made chicken noodle soup. Yeah! It has always seemed to elude me.

*I was prompted by the Holy Spirit to write to a friend that I sensed was hurting. Boo! on the hurting. Yeah! that I did what I was nudged to do because it was encouraging. I'm hoping I can do more "hearing" of the Holy Spirit.

*We had friends over on Saturday night for a Thanksgiving feast. If it is so good--we should do it more often. Yeah!

*I finally fit into one of my coats that I love love love. Yeah! It is missing two buttons and looks funny when I wear it. Boo!

*November 10 marked three years that Simon has been our son. Yeah! Oh, that deserves two yeahs. Yeah! Yeah!

*Penny is 18 months old today. Yeah! See previous post on my little pumpkin. Boo! :)

*My boys collected about 600 pencils. Boo! They spend hours playing with them and creating designs, cities, patterns, instruments and various others things with them. Yeah!

My cup runneth over and despite a few Boos along the way, I am blessed and grateful. God has given me a pretty cool life.

Ack!

I'm not getting much done these days. Care to guess why?

PENNY!

Doesn't she look great here? Quiet. Sitting. Angelic.

This happens infrequently.

Now, the above picture is more like it. This girl will CLIMB! She climbs on chairs. She climbs on the toilet. She climbs up the bunk-bed ladder as well as the playset ladder outside. She climbs on stools. She moves the stool around the kitchen looking for interesting things on the counter. This morning she pulled the drawers out on Garrison's dresser and tried to climb up the dresser. It fell on top of her. She has eagle eyes to find things that she isn't supposed get into. This girl is driving me wild! I love her. I love that she is talking. I love her smile and her hugs. I just can't get anything done when she is awake. Does she know that I have other children? Does she know that laundry needs to get done? Look at Garrison--he is not happy with his sister. I don't blame him. I feel the same way sometimes.

Every day, I'm so very thankful for naptime. I can breathe, look around my house, count my other children and sometimes even shower.

I won't even begin to talk about her eating habits. :)

Bless God

Hi friends

Join me in praising God that my parents are living together. Yup, no type-o's here, just two married folks living together in sobriety.

1. Thanks for journeying with us.

2. It has been two years and two months.

3. New reasons to pray!

Though they are together (did I mention that already?!?), there is still much to pray for and be supportive of. It will be a new way of life for both of them. Every day is still a challenge for dad. You don't EVER stop being an addict and it is so easy to fall back into your addiction (look at the statistics if you desire) or to change over to a new addiction.

It will be easy to forget about us Koemans or to continue to run away from us at the beach or grocery store (see previous post). It will be easy to think that everything is hunky dory doo and move on. I asked you two years ago if you'd join our army. . . and army dedicated to praying for my mom and dad. So many of you have been faithful warriors and I'm thankful. . . my family is thankful. I hope you continue to pray for us as we adjust to our new normal and all the great and challenging things that come with it. Our God is mighty to save!

Hiding

Last night we went with friends to Ottawa Beach for a picnic. It was totally spontaneous and crazy and fun. It reminded me of the DenBleyker/Koeman picnics.

As we waited for the sunset and played on the rocks, I noticed someone walking toward me from my past. She (I'll call her Eve) was taking a walk on the boardwalk. Eve and I used to be very close, but two years ago when we followed our counselor and showed tough love to my dad, she refused to talk or see us. She has refused to learn about addiction and refused to listen to us, ask us questions, or even look me in the eye. It is fine when someone disagrees with me, but to refuse to even hear or acknowledge me. . . that is rough.

So, last night when I saw her coming. . . I wasn't sure what to do. I've always acknowledged her and greeted her kindly. I knew she saw me because she picked up her pace to get away. Of course, Noel decided that she had to go to the bathroom "RIGHT NOW!". We ended up walking about 30 feet behind Eve. I would see her peak back at me to see how close I was. She scooted ahead to the parking lot. Noel, Penny and I made our way down the sidewalk and as I passed her vehicle, I saw her hiding underneath the dash. Really?!? Hiding under the dash in your car? Her husband was obviously confused and then he looked out and saw me. (Adam has the same feelings about me as Eve does.) I smiled and waved and moved on.

There is so much humor in this. . . there is also sadness and a great lesson. It makes me laugh that Eve needed to run away from me. I am scary. :) What is sad is that this happens to me occasionally, but it happens to my mom often and my guess. . . to many people. When we don't agree, when we don't know what to say, when it seems hard, when you are embarrassed. . . we sometimes choose to hide. Want to know another sad thing? I've done this. Think about yourself--do you ever see someone and hide? Go to a different aisle? Drive a different route? Smile and hope they don't say something to you?

As a Christian, I need to be different, to show the light of Christ to those around me. Yes, it is hard. In some ways, being sanctified is much harder than living life selfishly. Obedience is so very difficult, yet being in a personal relationship with the Lord--AMAZING!!!

Me? I'm going to try harder to make sure no one feels like a nobody around me. I'm not going to run to my car and hide under the dash. . . unless of course I'm playing hide-n-seek. :)

Dear Penny

Dear Penny

You are sleeping and I am thankful. 24 hours ago was a different situation entirely. You've been perplexing me lately. The past three days have been one big guessing game. It is one of the biggest surprises to me about motherhood--guessing. I'm constantly guessing and you are no different. You've been off. Then, you've been fine. We struggled on Saturday night so much that I decided to stay home from church with you on Sunday morning. After a morning nap, you were on top of the world, though very drooley. I had figured out that you were teething. Yeah! I'm right. . . right?!? After a rough afternoon at Grammy's house, we made it home. I found myself putting as much medicine into you as I dared. You even went and played at a park for an hour. Teeth, yes teeth.

Then our night began. You were struggling during supper and as I changed your diaper, I noticed lots and lots of white spots on your tongue. What is this? Something new. We took a picture and sent it off to Aunt Gigi who called and told us not to worry--this too shall pass. You finally fell asleep about two hours after your regular bedtime on your daddy's shoulder.

Then, it happened. You were up and screaming. You didn't want anything and nothing was right. I'm so sorry. I felt so bad that I cried with you. We just sat on the couch and cried together. Daddy and I were debating about what to do for you--do we go to the hospital at 10:30 on a Sunday night? Then. . . and thanks for cluing us in my dear. . . then you started rubbing your ear. Light bulbs and flashlights and fireworks went off! I put my finger on your left ear and you about hit the ceiling. Daddy took you to Zeeland Hospital and returned with a much calmer and exhausted Penny. Antibiotics as well as a concoction for your very sore mouth had taken the edge off. . . yes you were still up screaming at 4:30, but it was short lived.

Penny, I'm so in love with you. Can you please learn how to describe what you are feeling inside? It would help me a ton. I'm so sorry that it took me three days to figure out what was going on with you. You could also run a fever. That might help me as well next time. As for tonight, daddy got two hours of sleep last night because he was with you and he was on call. I'm a little ragged myself. How about no interruptions tonight? I promise I'll read extra books to you tomorrow. I'll even forgive you for finally learning how to say my name and calling it out extra early.

Love

Mommy

Branson Travelogue

Can we pack us for the trip?

We detoured just north of Chicago to meet up with Uncle Tony and Auntie Annie. They bought the Vehi-Cross from us. Bittersweet.

Overnight in St. Louis. We were able to swim with our super friends the Pollacks! Luckily, this hotel had a pool that was partly inside and partly outside. AWESOME!

Doing some coloring in the hotel room.

They didn't start out sleeping this way. Hilarious!

She knows--don't climb on toilets--even if you do see a pacifier. :)

Get out the bail money!

Oh yeah--kids coaster here we come! Noel began screaming here and didn't stop (one of the few places we allow her to scream).

We enjoyed a Birds of Prey presentation.

More coaster fun.

Everyone want to ride with daddy in the teacups, he spins super fast.

Silver Dollar City can just take it out of you.

Still in love.

Swimming every day in the hotel pool.

Of course we can have ice cream for lunch: we are on vacation!

Notice that mom is not on this get very wet ride.

I discovered this mutant hair on Gary's arm. Seriously!

Hanging out at Grandpa Larry and Grandma Karen's house.

Of course we took a boat ride. Grandpa Larry goes so fast.

Girls' turn.

The kids loved collecting shells and rocks on Tablerock Lake.

Most everything in the house was a "no-no" for Penny.

We found a spot where the kids could drive their own go-carts!

Yeah, he is focused. No worries for this mama.

Notice the dutch hotel in the background. Branson has everything!

God is moving!

It's been quite the week for this chica. Good stuff. Birthday stuff. Family stuff. Funnel cake stuff. Balloon twisting stuff. Small group stuff. Classroom bonding stuff.

What has been the best though is the God stuff. Isn't that the very tops? I know God is ALWAYS working. I know that God is ALWAYS communicating with me via the Holy Spirit. I know that God ALWAYS has what is best for me. I'm so thankful that I know that--I've got it. What has been cool is that I've been hearing from other women about what God is doing in their lives.

Twice this week I've been stopped by a radiance oozing out from two of my friends. They had seen and felt the Holy Spirit working in each of their lives. They were so excited that they just had to talk about it and I was able to worship by listening. As each of them were talking, I couldn't help but praise God for working so specifically in the lives of my friends. When God is moving. . .it just has to come out! Even the rocks will cry out! I had another friend who stopped to pray by the door of my sons' classroom. The father of a classmate died in an accident last week. As she was praying she said that she could feel the Holy Spirit in their room--it was so very powerful. It excited me to hear that! (I even cried a little bit.) I shared this with Maestra Zondervan (my boys' teacher) and she was overwhelmed as well. The Holy Spirit is present and working in my boys' classroom!?! LOVE IT!!!!

That is awesome isn't it? I bless God that He is doing great things in the lives of friends and that my friends are seeing God doing great things. I'm so thankful that His Spirit is active at our school. BUT. . . I think we need to do more. I think we need to share more. We need to talk about God in our lives, not with a "look-how-close-I-am-to-God" kind of attitude, but a "isn't-God-just-the best-ever" "look-at-how-amazing-God-is" and "let's-celebrate-God-together" kind of way. If you have a story to share, I'd love to praise God with you.

shanda sprick is falling down. . . falling down. . .

Can you hear the song? Look at the title and sing to London Bridges. . . it works.

I was sitting on the couch with Gary last night and we were chatting about my strange fall. Upon further inspection, it was made clear to me that this has happened before. Gary reminded me that there was a time when I disappeared.

We were getting into the car. . . we were going to church and were going to meet with the pastor in an effort to join our church. . . baby Garrison was safely buckled in and as I walked around the car I disappeared. I sprained my ankle for no apparent reason (I see a theme!). I lay on the floor of the garage. Gary couldn't figure out what happened. One second I was there, and suddenly I was not. He came looking for me. Nice man.

My mom reminded me recently. . . and I recall the day vividly. . .that I was standing in the office of Chicago Christian High School. It was my first year there. I was standing just to the side of the secretaries desk and I fell down. Just fell. Not fainted, not in pain. . . just a random falling.

So, this seems to be happening every 6-8 years or so. Let's just say it is one of the fabulous things about me. :)

I am a grown-up

I fell today.

Grown-ups are not supposed to fall down.

First, it hurts. I have quite the bruise on my arm. My hand is scraped up. I have a very strange cut on my neck where a trachea would be (how exactly did I fall?). I can feel something brewing on my shin. Plus, my heart hurt a bit.

I don't think my heart got hurt, but it was racing. I think my heart had some pride knocked out of it and was feeling a bit empty. I'm an adult. I'm a mom. My daughter Penny fell down no less than four times while we dropped off her siblings at school yesterday. My kids fall down all the time. Grown-ups--not supposed to happen. We are taller. The ground is farther away. Plus, I don't have a great reason. Good reasons include icy conditions, slimy rocks in rivers, and falling after scaling an 8 foot fence while chasing robbers. I was coming in from the garage and going up a step. A step!

I did make an "ooh" sound. We've been teaching our kids that when someone is hurt or crying they need to ask "Are you O.K.?" Yes, the door to the house was open and yes my kids heard me and yes Gary was outside and heard me go down and yes everyone came to check on me. I couldn't even hide and pretend it didn't happen.

I just hope my feet aren't growing again. I can't take more than the huge 11's that I have. Maybe I'm getting old--after all--today is my last day of being 38. Hopefully, a random fall doesn't need to happen again until . . . um. . . never.

Bass Pro Shop and Coca-Cola

My kids don't know anything about these two companies. . . except that their Grandpa Larry likes them. They proudly wore their new Bass Pro Shop shirts to school--purchased by their grandpa "everyone gets two!". They are making pictures of Coke logos and exclaim (quite loudly I might add) that "we need to buy that for Grandpa Larry" every time we see a Coke product--they are everywhere!

The passion for their grandparents doesn't end there. Grandma Karen loves sparkly things. Today Noel is wearing her new sparkle t-shirt (over a turtleneck!) to school. It reminds her of her grandma and makes her feel special because her Grandma Karen gave it to her. When we walked into our hotel room in Branson, it was Christmas! Gary's mom had been there before us and had surprises hidden all over. Special food treats, puzzles, stuffed animals, clothes, glow sticks, cookie cutters and even Noah and his family on the ark greeted us and elicited squeals of delight from our ducks.

We don't get to see Gary's folks very often, perhaps once or twice a year. Last week was filled with wonderful memories of grandparents who love them, follow them around Silver Dollar City, buy them funnel cakes, take them to great restaurants, let them play with their jukebox, take them on fast rides around the lake, clean up diaper blow-outs, and get up at 4:30 a.m. to say good-bye. They are spoiled and doted on. So are Gary and I.

I'm so thankful for my in-laws. I'm thankful for the values they gave to my number one guy. I'm thankful for their generosity. I'm thankful that I really like them. Every night we were able to play cards together. That is a great family to be with.

It's good to be home

We rolled into our neighborhood at 6:59 p.m.---two minutes ahead of when the GPS predicted. We'd been staring at that thing since 5:20 a.m. and were thankful that we were finally home. Gary backed into the garage, turned the car off, and we prayed. We had begun our vacation with prayer on Tuesday morning and now we were able to finish. Thank you God! Safety, fun, family, laughter. . .all from Him.
Then we entered the house. The past hour (it is currently 8:07) has been filled with joy--[insert sarcasm]. Here is the sampling.

1. Noel fights with Garrison as to who gets to retrieve the newspaper.
2. I have to pee.
3. So does Gary.
4. There is a quick realization that one toilet didn't get flushed and now. . .ahem. . . there is an oder problem.
5. Penny runs to our open bedroom to get the "off-limits" lotion.
6. Two ducks stop carrying stuff inside while one declares that he alone will do all the work--in an effort to get back a toy snake that was won at an arcade.
7. Simon declares that the car is all clean and is rewarded with the snake--only to have it taken away because the car is still a traveling pit.
8. Garrison drops his new matchbox car (from the same arcade) into the toilet while he is POOPING. His kind mother fishes it out for him.
9. Penny crawls on the kitchen table and begins shaking the open seasonings. Thanks for that.
10. Simon askes for tomato juice for supper. Then he spills it on the floor.
11. I open up the sealed plastic bags that contain the most vial of the dirty laundry--two poop blow-outs and two sets of vomiting clothes. I gag a little. Sadly, they got mixed up with the wet bathing suits which aren't supposed to go into very hot water. Tough bananas.
12. Penny finds her cup of milk on the table and runs through the house sprinkling it. Fun!
13. Penny makes a dirty diaper.
14. Noel throws a tantrum because I won't let her work on her box. Yes, that is correct.
15. Garrison cries because he needs to shoot baskets with his new basketball from Silver Dollar City.
16. Simon cries at the table and he just doesn't know why.
17. I step on the scale. Apparently, it made perfect sense to me that I could eat anything I wanted while in Branson and nothing would happen when I got home. This is wrong thinking.

We had a great vacation. We had a rough re-entry. I would expect nothing less in either category. Now, everyone is tucked into their beds with their pillows and their sheets. I'll be doing the same in about an hour. Gary is off getting pizza. I think I can eat some and nothing will happen. Then again, that could be wrong thinking.

Chit Chat

I'm not one for chatting with strangers. This may sound shocking, but I'm kinda an introvert. I dislike chatting at weddings, showers, school functions, after church. . . .I don't know how to make small talk. It makes me uncomfortable.

I've had two folks strike up conversations with me in the past couple of weeks while we were playing on the playground at school after Mandarin classes. Both ended up blessing me, so I'm glad I actually chatted rather than run away. I've been thinking a lot about the second encounter.

This was with a stay-at-home dad. I was sitting in the shade, he came and sat about 10 feet from me. . . and then you guessed it--he began to talk to me. I kept thinking "Just go away. Just go away. Just go away." I didn't look at him much hoping that he would get the hint. He didn't and you guessed it, we began to chat. At one point, Ben shared that his wife taught at Hamilton schools. I mentioned that my dad had taught for years at Blue Star Elementary. He looked at me with big eyes and asked what my dad's name was. "Dan Koeman" I replied. He started to laughed and rolled back in the grass. "Your dad was my favorite teacher! That is cool. You have such an amazing father." Garrison came over and I told him that this man once had his Gramps as a teacher. Garrison could hardly believe that. Our new friend then told Garrison that he was so lucky to have Mr. Koeman as a grandpa. Garrison agreed. He also told our friend that Gramps only had one leg. (They are fascinated with how dad lost his leg and how that all works. We probably have one conversation about it every week.) I thought later about Ben's comments. He was exactly right. I do have an amazing father.

Dad touched so many lives during his teaching career. He made a great difference serving on the Laketown Township Board. He was a wonderful elder in our church. None of these are his greatest accomplishment. He recently told his counselor that he had made some big investments during his lifetime. He does not money to show for it, but he put everything into four particular kids. He gave his time. He gave his resources. He watched and prayed. Today, his investments have paid off and he is seeing and reaping the rewards. His investments are changing the world for the Lord.

While growing up, I did have the best dad. He loved us, played with us, made us work, sat down to dinner with us, prayed with us and for us, read to us, taught us how to ski, hike, build fires, love books, try even if we failed, value education. . . the list goes on and on. See, kids like Ben got to have dad for one year. I got to have him every day, every month, for years and years. I get to say that Mr. Koeman is my favorite dad.

Lots of checks out the door. . .

I wrote five checks this morning. It is fundraiser time and all my kids are fund raising for school. I know that schools need to do this. I know that bands need to do this. I know that youth groups need to do this. I get it, and I participate. My kids are still young enough that they don't get the whole prizes thing--Yeah! Two weeks ago our neighbor showed up to sell us delicious treats so that her fifth grade band could go somewhere special. I bought a tub of cookie dough for twelve dollars. Twelve Dollars! Plus, I'm looking forward to pepperoni pizza and a twelve dollar roll of wrapping paper.

So, we need a policy. I think we have one, but Gary and I need to discuss it so that we've got it down. I think we'll buy one item for every fundraiser for our kids and buy one thing from neighbors we know. It may need to be tweaked. We came up with our book policy last night.

I loved ordering Scholastic books when I was a kid. I think that my parents let me get a book every time. What is up with that? I might be wrong. I do remember spending lots of time looking at all the books and descriptions and trying to decide which one I would get. Choosing was half the fun. Thanks mom and dad! I devoured books and loved getting new ones. I would return to those books again and again. I want my kids to have the same love affair that I did. So, we decided that they didn't need to get a book every time the order sheets come home--once a month. We will let them get a book about three or four times a year. When they can read, then they can get books more often if they'd like to work for the money to get them. We'll see how it goes.

Do you have policies? Care to share?

In love

Evein' folks
I'm bringing on the cuteness! Yup, featured below is one adorable honey. I was looking through the last batch of photos and realized that:
1. I have NOT neglected the youngest child in this family. Yes siree, this girl will have plenty of pictures documenting her history.
2. Penny is doing, getting into, climbing upon, and turning up-side-down everything in this house. This is why I have so many pictures of her!
3. She brings me joy and I like her.

Captions will be below the pictures.

Maybe this super scarf that Noel put on me will help me get at the dog food--I just want a snack!


Hmmm. . .stuff in drawers. Awesome!

Garrison made a slide out of a cushion, so I went down it--head first--again and again and again and. . . .

Climbing on furniture is better if you look sassy.

Mom needs help picking flowers. Yes. She. Does.

Every girl plays with stones.

Just looking for frogs like my brothers do. (After this picture, it took us a bit to get her out and her shoe stayed put. I loved it!)

Daddy's girl. Yes. She. Is.

Bike riding wears me out.

Concert anyone?

Ravioli

Learning to use a spoon. Um. . . notice the hand with the spoon and her opposite hand. Yup, that went well. :)

This girl needs some apples.

No fear of these birds--they are running away from her!

Dear Simon

This is a picture of Simon with his diploma. He said his whole memory verse. Way to go!

I wrote this in Simon's journal this morning.

-Dear Simon-

Something happened yesterday that has never happened before.

You drew a picture for your teacher: Laura Zondervan.

This may not seem like a big deal to you, but to me it is huge. You've been going to school since you were three. You haven't really enjoyed it. You've asked if you can stay home. You loved it when it wasn't your day to go.

This year in kindergarten, you've had to go every day. You've used words like "O.K.", "Not bad", "fine", and "good" when describing your day. Over the past few weeks, you've been more positive about school. Yeah! You've been smiling on your way to school. You've been enjoying Mandarin classes. You are a kid who loves to give to people you love and now. . . your maestra (teacher) has a picture from you. I'm so happy and grateful and excited. I hope it continues.

Love,

Mom

Confidence vs. Insecurities

Howdy!

This is my get-up. . . giddy up. For the past four years I've opened up our Wednesday night church program. I host games to introduce the various leaders of our kids' programs. Three of the years I've dressed up and acted all crazy. It isn't a stretch to think that I'm able to do this--I don't like to pass up an opportunity to dress up. :)

This year was a bit different. See that smile on my face? I wasn't feeling it. I wasn't excited about the games I had planned. I didn't feel like I was going to be effective. I felt that this wasn't going to be fun. This is it! I'm not going to do this again. In fact, the introduction of me sounded something like this. . . We again have Shanda! She has done this the past four years and we've come to expect it. Let's see what she has for us this year. UGH!

It went fine, but I didn't receive much of a response. The crowd was very chatty and didn't seem to really pay attention. One of the games failed pretty bad.

After everyone was in bed, I sat down to check e-mail, facebook and the like. I received a message from a friend. "You were awesome tonight. Thanks for all you are." It made me smile. Thanks. Then, at Bible Study Tuesday morning I received several comments about how much they had enjoyed my performance. One woman even stayed at church just to see it. Really? Seriously?

See, sometimes I'm super confident and sometimes I'm not. I can identify situations where I will always be confident and where I will always be insecure. Then there are the sometimes. . .

Bible Study began this week and next week we'll find out who is in our group. I feel like I'm in middle school: very insecure. Will I like those that I'm with? Will I have a leader who really challenges me? Will the women like me this year? (I'm replacing our very loved large group leader--YIKES and YES!) Will I get stuck with so-and-so? Insecurities.

We love to host folks at our house for supper. Love. It. We have a big shindig here tomorrow night which includes overnight guests from Chicago. Yeah! Sometimes though, I'm so nervous. Food. Conversation. Clean house. Will they have a good time? Did they feel it was worth the trip? Insecurities.

When I drop the kids off at school I see all these great moms, great women. I've gotten to know some, but some. . . they are so sweet and so put together and their kids are so great. Insecurities.

Yup, this girl ain't all put together. I'm sure there isn't a woman who is. So, I'm going to do something about it. Two days ago I received a facebook private message from someone who blessed me. She told me what she liked about me. It came out of the blue and boy. . was my confidence raised. I felt great. God took care of me in a very real way through her. Thanks chica. I'm going to bless others. Us women---we need to take care of each other and raise each other's confidence levels.

I'm going to walk into my party tomorrow night with my pumpkin t-shirt on and a true and confident smile on my face. I'm also going to try and bless all who are there. What will you do today for a wonderful woman in your life?

Chicken Post Script

I cooked up our first chicken for last night's supper. I thought I couldn't go wrong using my trusty crock-pot. I was right. This bird was amazing! I'm not sure what I thought it would taste like, but it was juicy and yummy. I also thought it would be a bit scrawny--these chickens were not kept in small cages so that they would get super fat. Our dinner had tons of meat. I also have my first batch ever (shocker!) of chicken noodle soup in the fridge. Yummy. I must confess though that my mind got the best of me at first. I was a little. . . ahem. . .nervous to take the first bite. I made Gary do it and he said it was good. Once I got it on my plate and out of the kitchen. . . I just enjoyed my supper. Three more birds in the freezer for later. Delicious.

Many thanks to those who commented (on the blog and off)--so glad that my cousin Jana remembers Grandpa Koeman butchering chickens! Sometimes I need to have a memory confirmed to make sure it really happened. :)